The present disclosure relates to frequency dividers, and, more particularly, to a passive frequency divider.
Frequency conversion is the transfer of energy at one frequency to a different frequency. A frequency divider receives an input signal and generates an output signal that has a frequency which is less than a frequency of the input signal and is phase locked to the input signal. Frequency dividers are utilized in various devices and systems, such as sensors, radio frequency communication, frequency synthesis, etc.
Frequency dividers are commonly provided as solid state devices. Solid state devices are usually active systems in that such devices typically use an energy source other than the input signal. For example, solid state devices may require components, like amplifiers and buffers, which require additional power in order to operate. In addition to increasing the power consumption of the frequency divider, such solid state components may generate noise which affects the performance of the frequency divider. Frequency dividers have also been developed in other technologies, such as microstrip and optical cavities. Such dividers are large devices that are difficult to implement in low kHz to low GHz range due to large electromagnetic wavelength in these ranges.
In recent years, the demand for cascading frequency dividers which generate multiple signals at various frequencies has increased. Such dividers are becoming essential components for many operations. However, cascading solid state devices has raised new challenges with regard to power considerations and noise from impedance matching.
Unlike active frequency dividers, passive frequency dividers generally do not require additional power other than input signal. However, some passive dividers are larger in size than their active counterparts. Thus, a single device that performs as a passive system and operates as multiple cascading frequency dividers is needed in the industry.